Montgomery fights on

The young midfielder has pledged his allegiance to Scotland after recovering from illness and injury, writes Simon Buckland

ON the morning of his 18th birthday, Nick Montgomery woke up with what he thought was a heavy cold. Within hours he had been taken to hospital in Sheffield and diagnosed with meningitis. It was to be the third time a question mark had been placed over his football career. Just as it had when he had glandular fever as a Leeds player at 15 and just as it did when he had broken his ankle during his first year with Sheffield United. For a third time, however, Montgomery was eventually able to answer his doubters in the positive.

At 21, with more than 100 appearances for Sheffield in midfield and a Scotland under-21 cap, Montgomery has come through. “There were people who wondered if I’d come back physically, I’m sure,” he admits. “It wasn’t just the illnesses, at a couple of points when I was out with the ankle